Left Burney with full charge about 9 AM however the Rear Hub is still acting flakey so I pulled off at the Shell Station and disconnected the Cruise Control thinking that it was inhibiting the controller with a spurious signal – however this had no effect. The bike also has been developing an occasional nasty chatter though I can’t find it.

At 9:15 AM we head on out, however flawed. At 20 miles out – the rear hub cuts out completely leaving me to pedal and the front is barely strong enough to pull me up the hill. Pull off to analyze and reset the Molex connector where the signals split; It works! Motor-on. Rubbing noise is still apparent.

Got to Old Station but the General Store is shuttered; gas-only through automation. Kept on going up the hill for a long arse time as Hwys 89 and 44 merged. During this segment some ahole towing his little-dick fishing boat passes me with 6 inches of clearance. Issues like this make me want to install real-time video recording. A few miles later the two highways diverge and I take the path less traveled (Yea!). It’s a climb up to the park entrance; at the station the Ranger tells me we’re presently at 5600 feet, it’s 22 miles to the summit (gulp) which is 8600 feet high (gulp) and I have a headwind (gulp) . I pay the man $5 to pass through the park and on I go up up up for a mile before the road drops like 1500 feet down (gulp) .

I decide to test a theory and downshift the bike into Grandma and lower the throttle down to 20-24 mph cos after 38 miles the battery pack is down to 59V! (Pedal pedal pedal) I decided to call this “Poverty-Pedaling” cos I am power-poor. About 9 miles into the climb I reach the Devastated Area and pull off for a rest, water, food, etc. This event however turns into an hour long marathon of electric bike theory, my saga, and discussions on regen as tourists flock around my ebike trying to guess it’s function.

EDIT: Mount Lassen from the Devastated Area. This was not a fun place to stand the century before.

Funny story: Just before the highways split, I had pulled off to take a shot at Mt. Lassen and Chaos Craig’s. A tourist stopped at the same spot only to note when I returned that I was driving “a heck of a contraption”. Then he enquired about my rear-facing bling (the one that looks like a prop) pointing at it and I tell him with pride “Well, that there is my Diametric Coriolis Inductive Regenerator!” The guy stares hard into my eyes and after a breath, he says “Sooo, it’s functional!?!” Suppressing my laughter, I says “Actually it’s for a laugh” but he cuts me off – “Well you know they make those things and you can buy them at x-y-z…” I couldn’t stop chuckling for the next 5 miles.

So here I yam at this rest stop and the rear-facing bling becomes a great talking point with much laughter. Tourists gone I try to leave but the rubbing sound is really annoying but I can’t find the source. Eventually I make it to the summit after a long albeit jaw-dropping beautiful drive about 1:30 PM, and 59.5 miles at 57.9 volts.

EDIT: KF at the Summit. Behind me is the trailhead leading to the top of Mt. Lassen; this is snowed in - a very rare condition this time of year!

EDIT: A view of the parkling lot from a tiny way up the trail. So much snow - and it's sooo cool

EDIT: One of the vistas above the Sulphur Works. Added on 9/1/2011

I am pretty sure this is the halfway point to Greenville so I am really pleased. This is likely the highest pass of the trip at 8600 feet. Again the bike becomes the spectacle and I’m there for 90 minutes talking it up. About 3 PM I descend the mountain with lots of regen braking but it hardly affects the fat of the pack. Pulled off near the Sulphur Works cos the chatter is so bad. I break out the tools but the nuts and bolts seem tight. Repack and head on down the hill; it’s now 3:30 PM. Finally reach the junction of Hwys 89 and 36 about 4:30 PM, and the descent was one of the very best, and rivaling Medicine Lake.

The rubbing/chattering is really bad now. In the 25 miles I stopped at least three times trying to source it. About the third time I rearranged the rear fender to join over the suspension pivot rather than under – but the chatter continued. I give up and just power on cos it is getting late. Somewhere in this part where Hwy 89 and 36 fork I noticed that the CA for the Rear hub goes T.U. and stops recording mph and mileage. Can’t stop to futz with it; I’ve got to go WOT balls to the walls with 23 miles to go. Heading on down passed the Dam, the canyon is light on traffic and I blast as fast as I can go. AS I reached Greenville and make the left turn onto the Valley Road there is a tremendously loud clatter – and the rear fender falls off! Stop, picked it up, packed it away and continued on; the f#$king chatter though was still there. After a few more miles I reach my Unc’s Farm: EOD.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

Backfill #4
Wednesday August 3rd Greenville to Plumas-Eureka State Park

Status:

2nd CA is broken so all Trip OD is now manually calculated from the Day Trip milage. So far I have traveled 829 miles in the past two weeks.

Swapped out the funky CA and put it on the bottom, and moved the good Front Hub CA to the top for better visability.

Fixed (I think) the fender rubbing business.

Cleaned and lubed the chain.

Reinstalled the right side ghetto torque arm; there is a thought that the rear wheel is migrating under load and contributing to the chatter.

Topped off the charge

Headed out for lunch at Anna’s Café

On the way out to eat lunch the bike continues to chatter but we can’t find it. Damn!

Fueled up with food, I depart Greenville about 2:30 PM. About 15 minutes later as I am passing through Crescent Mills the crank and chain make a horrible sound with heavy cogging. Strangely, I know this particular symptom; found a spot to park the bike and inspect the rear derailleur. Sure enough, the screw is lost and the nut is jamming the freewheel. I collect the nut and store it for future fix. One bullet dodged, but not the nasty one.

Back on the road, heading through the hot canyon with little shade, a water truck come up on my tail and just as I pull into the turnout the butthead hits his air horn long and loud. That was unnecessary. You know – if these cowards really wanted to make a manly statement – why don’t they just pull over and so we could discuss it with fists instead of provoking murder? This begins a new thought and I have a lot to say on the subject – but let’s save it for another thread.

I pull into Quincy about 4 PM and stop at the Auto Parts store that also hosts a Radio Shack where I pick up a pair of momentary switches to fix the buttonless Cruise Control. Drank lots of water here in the heat of the day. Made a quick post to ES on my present status, and motored on. It was a long hot journey up to the Pass, and admittedly – I was a bit touched by the barley spirits of the night before <ahem>.

Stopped to rest briefly at Blairsden to water-up, and then on up the steepest grade since I left Redmond: The road up to the Ski Bowl and Johnsville. The rear hub decided to take a fart like three annoying times – and really making quite angry, though when it did kick in the torque was awesome! Wiggle wiggle wiggle the harness; come on you pesky beast – git on with it! Climb!! Finally we reach the dirt road that is rough as a cob; I hates dirt roads – but then the bike did a funny thing and it remembered that it was first born as a downhill rig, and it handled the cobbles well enough. A lucky break. Finally – I reached the family farm in the forest about 5:30 PM. On the way in I hit a divot rather hard and the fender made a gawd-aweful noise; I dismounted and inspected the jammed works and the front part of the rear fender had detached and was maligned with the wheel. I pulled it free and stowed it for later repair. And that my friends – was the end of the nasty chattering for ever!

Stats:
End V = 58.8
Day Miles = 54.96
Total Odometer = 884

I took a break for a day to spend with my family.

On Friday August 5th I began to prep the bike for repairs:

Disassembled the 3-Way Switch to get to the Cruise Control push button and replaced the whole assembly with the Radio Shack Momentary Switch. Soldering was delayed a day.
EDIT: Replaced the stock push-button switch with a Radio Shack Momentary.

Forward-half of Rear Fender was modified to fit snugly at the pivot point above the framework instead of below, and the offending conflicting edges were trimmed back as well.

Repaired broken shaft of the Diametric Coriolis Inductive Regenerator; this snapped in half when I hit the divot. The hollow shaft was repaired by using a bolt having a shaft diameter of nearly identical size, cutting off the head of the bolt, then super-gluing the assembly together. Now the hardened shaft segment rests against the bike rack and shall never fail in that spot again. So – in a sense, I’ve made it quite functional hehe

Saturday August 6th I attempted to discover at length why the rear hub was cutting out.

Began by removing the Rear Hub controller for inspection and testing for broken/intermittent throttle wire.

Resistance and diode/continuity tests do not indicate problems even with dynamic motion of the attached harness. Connection from SP on the PCB to the connector is good.

Testing at the Primary Controller side of the connection – between the Throttle (source) Connector and the Harness Wye Connector indicates partial resistance and possible disconnection. Repeated tests indicate like results. The culprit is leading up to the Molex connector at the Wye which uses blade contacts that are proving to be not the best for variable resistance signals.

Cleaned the contacts with CRC.

Cleaned the PCB whilst I was at it.

Eventually decided to reassemble the whole business; maybe the cleaned contacts will hold until I can get to Fresno.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with my family.

EDIT: Life is tough when you have to reach for a beer Added on 9/1/2011

Up next is the ride to Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and over the Sierras. KF

Last edited by Kingfish on Sep 01, 2011 1:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

I consider this particular day to be a truly epic ride in comparison to all previous rides of this journey to date for certainly it was the most varied in terms of scenery, greenery, elevation, risk, and endurance.

I had pretty much prepped the bike as best possible the night before. Last year we ran the generator for 8-9 hours to charge my pack. This year it was pretty much topped off after one load of laundry (an excuse to run the generator; actually in this case it was my laundry and it took two loads cos I wuz a dirty boy). Anyways… about 4 hours and the pack was charged. By morning it settled in to 63.1V; good enough. It has been cool up here in the higher elevations between dusk to dawn so I put on my fleece.

Heading out on the Highway at 7:20 AM (innit that a Judas Priest song??) Dirt road was rough though I had trouble – even with 2WD getting past a couple of steep gravelly sections and had to straddle-walk through it. Tense, but it went quickly <whew; no broken spokes like last year!>. Hit the pavement (about 5300 feet) and started down the long steep downhill lurking for regen. By the time I got to Hwy 89 in Graeagle (about 4000 feet) the pack had nearly topped off again; about 62.9V. No stopping, turned right and proceeded to head south with hardly any traffic, light crosswind, with a good brisk pace. Really an enjoyable morning watching the sun climb and the shadows change over the high plains meadows contrasted against the steep Sierra escarpments; lots of photo opportunities – and I should have stopped – but this is going to be a long day and I got to make time. Between Graeagle and Sierraville is one long hill climb up from 4000 feet and over the 5400 foot Pass and then back down to about 4900 feet – that burned off 2 volts. I made Sierraville my first goal. I didn’t know how cold I wuz until I pried myself free of the bike; gawd I am stiff! (Go stand in the sun…) Lurking for the bathroom I met another cross-country cyclist:

His name was “Albert” from L.A. and he began his journey some 4 weeks before at the Mexican Border with the goal of reaching the Canadian Border – but I could tell as he explained it that just making it into Oregon would be satisfactory as the reevaluation unfolded: His plan now is to get to Ashland and take Amtrak back. The bike he used was laden with forward and rear panniers and packs; traditional. With this, I shared my bewares of Amtrak to pack his bike well. We then discussed mine – which he could not see cos I had parked on the opposite side – so we took a stroll over, and well… the eBike is its’ own story! Albert told me he was making 40 miles a day. I was about 38 miles to Truckee – which is uphill at 6000 feet, and I told him that I planned to be there in a little over an hour; his eyes were as big a saucers – you could see the wheels turning with inspiration. All it takes is to plant the seed and then let Nature do the rest.

Wishing Albert all the best, I departed Sierraville at 9 AM and made my path south and up up up on Hwy 89. Traffic was picking up though not troublesome. I know this road well; every turn, every hill, every turnout from years and years of heading to the summer spot for a break from the Valley Heat. It’s a good ride, a stimulating ride, purgative in the solace of the lone rider who’s gaze wanders from the margins of the road – to drinking the majesty of the moment, the deer in the meadow, the chipmunk racing across the road, the hawk overhead – will the chipmunk make it? Basic Nature; simple entertainment.

At last we reached the crest of the hill and the juncture of Hwy 89 and Interstate 80 in Truckee. I spaced, didn’t take the right turn, and wound up going a bit too far – though a quick check of the online map put me back onto Brockway Road heading down into town. Highly concerned over the voltage drop on the pack I took a chance and pulled straight into the first gas station, and lucky me – it was a Union 76 at Donner Pass and Brockway Roads. I met with the charming attendant and explained my journey, and if she could be so kind as to allow me to charge – which magically developed into clearing out a space in the Garage for me to park out of harm’s way – and I set up my business. “Marie” said I could stay as long as I wanted; the Station closed at 7 PM. She told me to go wander, have fun and eat – and on that note I quizzed on her preferences, selected a destination and headed out. It’s 10:16 AM, the pack was at 58.4V after 57miles and 2 mountain passes.

Fifteen minutes later I was having a “French Breakfast” at Smart’s Wagon Train Coffee Shop. Wandered my full belly about town. Sat and gestated on the unending flocks of touristas and wild traffic jam on Donner Pass Road. This part of Truckee is obviously a magnet of attractions. I sunned myself on a bench, though eventually grew bored. Time to bust-a-move. Packed it in: About 12-Noon the new charge was at 59.9V, I thanked Marie for her kind hospitality, and headed out West on Donner Pass Road (and hoping for a better fate).

EDIT: Donner Pass Road - the main street of Truckee.

Found again Hwy 89 and headed south WOT up to Tahoe City – dodging many cyclists and avoiding the thickets of heavy traffic. There is a bike lane that develops about halfway up, but and easy inspection quickly determined that the speed of it would be far too cumbersome, and certainly not support my 30 mph-average! Reached the Lake, and turned right/south without stopping and was faced immediately with a massive backup headed northbound – a line that went for miles and miles trying to get to I-80. Traffic was moderate in my direction and metered out by the traffic light at Tahoe City. The sign indicated that South Lake Tahoe was 27 miles away – closer than I had anticipated. About 5 miles later I had to pull over and rest – forgetting that it’s high altitude here.

Not a moment later as I was parking/leaning the bike against a rail – a guy with his small son comes over to ask a question; the son wants to know what kind of bike is that?!? So I take 15 minutes with animation to explain the whole deal. The guy introduces himself as “Leon” from Visalia – a Valley town 60 miles south of Fresno and we’re instantly kindred! After they leave I get my water and pee break and then continued on down the road with haste as it’s about 1:15 PM. The weather is perfect – though with a breeze that at times is cross- or headwind. It is difficult to see the Lake from the road – although at Meeks Bay one can really get a glimpse of the hugeness of this geological wonder where hundreds of boats are moored on the deep inland sea, bounded by mighty alpine peaks still sporting their snowy caps.

At the next break I stopped briefly at Emerald Bay State Park to snap a few pictures. This is a destination beyond what words can describe other than the geologic remains of a once-large glacier that cleaved into the granitic fissures of a vast mountain and created a sparkling clear panoramic vista bordered by a dangerously sinuous and narrow road heavy with traffic. At the tiny parking lot I found a dumpster to lean against. Quickly I jotted up to the ledge and snap the best views. Pandemonium: Some vendor is parked in the best spot hawking hot dogs and ice cream. Dodge fat kids eating Missles, smokers, and the otherwise mentally-taxed attempting to herd their brood and share the pay-as-you-view telescope. Run back, and jump on the bike before some tourista hits it from entering the lot in the reverse direction. As my Uncle later puts it: “That place is crawling like ants with tourists!” Aye ~ and I git ye outta thar!

EDIT: fixed typo

Up up up past twisting 10-mph curves and no-margin precipices, then down and around – no room for error, no place to pull off and allow the unending mile-long trains of backed up traffic go by; it is a zoo! Fortunately – most traffic is stuck doing 40 mph, though it doesn’t stop some from blowing chunks and clouds of soot from that brief endorphin pleasure of passing that pesky guy on a – wot is that thing? At least I get to pass a few of them at the next backup: Ta Ta – must dash.

After far too long in the saddle, I reach South Lake Tahoe without celebration. The road changes after a dramatic drop into the south shore from twisty narrow rural route to a multi-merge of two highways – U.S. 50 and Hwy 89 –coalesce in gianormic proportion as gamblers and touristas make a mass exodus from Sodom and Gomorrah in flagships of capitalism, or perhaps nostalgic caravans of another generation – some running far too rich for my lungs <ack, cack, urk!> I do not stop; onward through the smog – WOT!

About 2:30 PM at Meyers, CA I pulled off at a Chevron Minimart for a quick rest – presuming that I would have one more opportunity to stop before climbing the last of the mountain passes. However – as I was there for about 10 minutes an outlet was noted at the corner of the building… Decided to move the bike around the corner and snake the charger cord over; is the plug active?? YESSS-SSS-SS-S! Pack at 57.7V, we begin harvesting a charge. During this time, being in a highly visible position, I spoke with many people transiting in and out, and explained the ebike et al; always an enjoyable experience. So wuz the wild life that came in to … change their clothes in the parking lot; I love my mirrored sunglasses. Meant only to stay about ½ hour however, I also noted the gusting winds and became concerned, so I stayed for another ½ hour. At 3:30 PM – packed it in and left with 59.0V on the pack.

The two highways split; most of the traffic takes U.S. 50 towards Sacramento. I take Hwy 89 up over Luther Pass to its’ southern junction with Hwy 88. The height of the pass was unmarked due to road construction/maintenance although later it was determined to be 7740 feet. Very pretty meadows and good long straight-aways for bombing downward. Mantra: Must Regen; repeat… <nods>

Got to the junction and turned right onto Hwy 88 and again headed west into the sun. The visage on this segment is perhaps the most dramatic and gorgeously rich in color and dichotomy against a deeply hued indigo sky with a waxing moon rising. Traffic is modest, the road is good enough with margins most of the time – up and up and up past Red Lake and on over the “Kit Carson Pass” which narrows to a single lane due to rock falls; there’s a stop light here that meters out the passage. After this the road drops away into the Caples Lake shallow basin; great for bombing runs with good margins and light traffic due to the signal. Crossed over the dam holding back Caples Lake – a postcard picture portrait spectacular in beauty – though I had traffic behind and no place to pull off. Over the next rise and my mind was blown away by Kirkwood Meadows! Nature’s artistry had a free hand here and it is rich with splendor! Up the next hill, climb climb climb up a narrow ledge; don’t look right cos it’s straight down! Lots of room to pass – but some balding prick in a bronze pickup passed me with less than 6 inches tailgating the driver in front, close enough that I could feel the boundary layer of his bodywork; I am as far over as I can go and this dickweed has a whole lane: WTF?

EDIT: Carson Spur Pass. One half of the panorama is missing from my dumbphone Added on 9/1/2011

Time for a break at the top of my ascent: Carson Spur at about 7994 feet. Later – after the end of the day my Uncle says the Kit Carson Pass is measured at 8650 feet, and that would make sense. The unnamed pass over Mt. Lassen is of similar height. It is said that Hwy 88 is the highest trans-Sierra Nevada highway kept open throughout the winter. Anyways – at the Kit Carson Pass summit I pulled off at the adjacent vista point to snap a few pictures of the Desolation Wilderness just below and to the north when this vehicle that was previously being tailgated comes back around and pulls up next to me. The guy jumps out and runs over to me whilst his wife/partner rolls down the window and says: “He’s just got to know about your bike!” We spoke at length – but dang on me – I forgot to ask their names. I gave him the whole compressed enchilada with guacamole and salsa explanation of ebikes and my saga; I think we have a convert! He just couldn’t believe that I was going 29 mph up that last hillclimb hehe

It’s now 4:45 PM and time to head down the hill, er mountain. It takes a long time to drop below 8000 feet with lots of short hillclimbs and false descents, although most of the time I have ample margins and good visibility. Really though – I love this country; these are the forests that I know well, hiked as a kid, climbed in my youth, the smells of mountain misery and bear clover, big huge sugar pines with knaried tops from lightning strikes; where eagles dare to nest. Panorama after panorama, the scenery is the best that money can buy - and then some. Finally passing below 7000 feet the road grows more steep with long straight-aways and ample turnouts rounding each sinuous curve, bombing on down as I go, feeling for the trailer to break – waiting on the telltale quavering wiggle before the fishtail – and selecting to ebrake when the risk exceeds my excitement, although we keep trying to go faster still!

At 6000 feet I spot a Black Oak growing next to the highway – it is huge! An oak at 6000 feet – it just blows my mind! Soon the forest yields to mixed foliage and dryer, more burnt-amber colors of grasses and parched soils. Down down down; the sun is setting and I’m passing through more shade – the humidity and heat are apparent though not bothersome. At last we enter Pioneer and I make the last hillclimb of the day up to my Uncle’s farm in the forest. It’s now 6:10 PM – and they were waiting for me: What a day!

Ligament behind left knee is acting up – just like the right one did the previous week.

The rear hub cutout for just a moment – indicating that cleaning the Molex connector helped. The plan is now to remove the Throttle signal from that connector and use a dedicated blade or bullet connection.

I want to replace every f@#$ken APP connector with Bullets, grrrr!

I spent the next day with my Uncle and cousins resting. Many barleys were sacrificed.

EDIT: My cousin made up a custom "plate" for my ebike; T'anx Cuz

It might take me a while to type it up – but there’s one more day to post, and it’s even more epic!

Cheers, KF

Last edited by Kingfish on Sep 01, 2011 1:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

Technically this is not a backfill since I have not posted the notes before – but here we go. On this day I faced my toughest test to date in terms of distance, elevation climb, and heat tolerance. The day follows an evening of revere with my Unc & cousins with whom I have enjoyed many off-road experiences. BTW – before I get started here – I just want to say that if you are ever traveling on this part of the country, stop at Mr. Beefy’s – a little red shack at the corner of Hwy 26/Red Corral Road & Hwy 88 for the best tasting real ice cream milkshake made in this part of the world! I hear their burgers are just as good!

Knowing that today’s distance would be even longer than before, I got up and left at 6:40 AM with 63.2V on the pack. Dubious about wearing the fleece, it wound up being a smart idea for protection against wind chill. The short descent to Hwy 88 topped off my pack. Before I knew it I had passed through Pine Grove, and not much later Jackson. Made a left onto Hwy 49 and proceeded south. Traffic was light with no wind.

Hwy 49 though is however known to be hilly, twisty, gusty, narrow, dangerous, though with occasional well-made bypasses around historic towns, and beautiful spans high over canyon reservoirs. This highway begins in Oakhurst (a destination) and runs the length of the California Central Valley foothills, following the major historic artery of the California Gold Rush of 1849, hence Hwy 49, the 49’ner Trail. Last year I took Hwy 49 from Gold Lake Road to Auburn; a long and difficult section. This day would prove even more difficult.

Heading out of Jackson the next town south was San Andreas; traffic was light, though after that it became heavy and snotty all the way into Angel’s Camp and with a headwind that chewed away at my pack. At 8:20 AM after nearly 40 miles I pulled into the Nash Chevron Station in Angel’s camp to rest up and shed the fleece; my hopes were similar to find an outlet. The attendant was curious and we chatted a bit, then I made my pitch to plug in; he pointed to an outlet that was less than 10 feet away and gave me permission to go for it. A tall mechanic named Ethan with ebullient personality was completely enamored by my ebike and quest. He gave me insights on where to eat – and I headed off about 8:30 AM to Rodz Grille. Afterwards I returned and waited about one full hour before pulling the plug and buttoning up. At this time I had 60.0V on the pack which picked up to 61.8V, and noted out of curiosity that the AveS was 31.2 mph.

Left Angel’s Camp at 9:40 AM. The road south was curvy and slow with varying degrees of margin, much of it crowned away from the road and worthless to me. Standing at that Chevron station felt like a blast furnace with the heat reflecting off, though once underway I felt a lot cooler. I soon found Rawhide Road and took that as a bypass around Sonora; Ethan had warned me that there was a fire on that road the day before – and the evidence of that fire was clear, though completely extinguished. This is a winding rural road full of fun and lazy sights – enough entertainment that one could almost forget their road responsibilities. Thankfully traffic was light; I couldn’t imagine going through Sonora as this was blissfully peaceful. So much to explore! Finally the road descends down to Hwys 49 and 108, and I pulled off for a quick check – maybe one minute; all good – let’s roll!

Fast and furious down through Jamestown and down farther to where Hwys 49 and 108 split at Montezuma Road: Another idyllic setting where the mind could wander with so little traffic on this open expanse of foothill plains, This touch of paradise was interrupted by the merge of Hwy 120 at Chinese Camp, although the road is in reasonably good condition with ample margins. Shortly after crossing high over the Tuolumne River at Don Pedro Reservoir I was climbing proudly up out of the river valley, and nearing the crest I noticed the vista view turnout coming up shortly – when I felt this little bump, then a sound like “fitz fitz fitz”, followed by a sound of “flib flib flib” that degenerated into the sound of “flub flub flub” - <long dramatic pause> - and my worst nightmare had been realized!

The Flat
I quickly pulled to a stop as my bike became squirrelly and the rear bike tire deflated. Latex had squirted out everywhere. My first impressions were that I had a rim flat like before. Searching for options I pulled my caravan around and onto the access road directly opposite of the Vista View road which had partial shade and hid me from oncoming traffic quite well. I located some dilapidated posts and created a work site that supported the bike and trailer for disassembly – and proceeded to do so.

The time was about 10:45 AM by reckoning, and I had gone about 70 miles downrange. The pack was good and strong – holding at 59.7V. I had shade, water, and food. Though nearly unbearably hot – I had the tools and the ambition to fix this. It took me until 12-Noon to separate the wheel from the bike, which included complete detachment of the trailer, pulling off the torque arms, removing the hitch and washers and nuts and APP-shells. Thank the maker I had installed the Micro-B USB connector for my Halls; no need to cut the connector off. Now I could clearly inspect the wheel, and quickly located the source of the puncture. This is when I called my brother and informed him of my status: Expect me to be late.

EDIT: Can you believe this was stuck all the way into my tire?

The object stuck into my tire was a ginormous lag bolt, about ¼ inch in diameter by 1-1/2 inch in length. It had been driven straight in, piecing all the way through to the other side of the thick DH tube. Near as I could tell the “Stop Flats 2” just moved aside and let the silly thing pass on through. No amount of foaming latex could plug this hole. Instead the latex congealed on everything it touched including leaves, twigs, spiders and flies, dirt, and who knows what else; it was a nasty mess to clean up before I could begin to make the repair. Frankly – my first thought was that I had been sabotaged; in the full heat of the day, with my shade disappearing, it is easy for the mind to become muddled and to search for scapegoats. However – the fault is mine alone.

I am also going to switch to DOT tires next year. We ride in the worst possible road conditions and it is just plain garbage to deal with. I need better armor.

The replacement tube I had on hand is an Arrow; these are neat tubes that have the metal-stock externally-threaded with nut Schrader valve with is awesome when trying to pump up a deflated tire. The downside is that the tubes are thinner than the Kenda/Q-Tubes DH, though certainly better than the Maxxis. Unfortunately I have a rim-flat that is about a 5mm slit. This I repaired using the traditional sandpaper, smelly glue, and oblong rubber patch. Pray it holds until the next town… With the latex soup still floating around inside the tire – the tube gets stuffed back into the wheel. During this time I had completely lost my shade – though forgot to pay attention. However I did stay hydrated.

Hookworms are difficult to deal with, but I took each challenge one at a time, methodically until each task was completed. Wheel finished. I laid the bike on its’ side to mount it. This is where the Rear Derailleur Hanger became a problem with the missing fastener. I resolved to put the right rear torque arm on to hold the axle in place. Flipped the bike over and repeated the alignment; the axle was in the slot, but not well-seated. Lifted the rear of the bike and dropped it a foot; boom – in the slot and seated firmly. Got it in one; that was lucky! Dash for the shade, dash for the water. What’s next?

Checked the time and noted my cell phone was low on power so I put power to the auxiliary circuits and plugged my phone into the 12-Volt USB adapter below my dash (finally a chance to use it).

Reattached the left torque arm and hitch. Created a framework from the dilapidated posts to align and support the trailer and bike for re-mating, and got two bolts screwed in; the rest was downhill from here and a matter of buttoning up. The last tasks included putting the rear panniers back on and tying them down – a simple deed and yet I was overheating and could hardly figure out what knot to tie, cursing in the heat. Breathe, relax, focus.

EDIT: Made use of natural assets to leverage my way out of here.

At 2:30 PM I finally had the whole bike repacked, 16 miles to the next town, and ready to go. It has been nearly 4 hours in this miserable heat; I had killed off one whole water bottle and ½ of my Gatorade. Time to go and leave this wretched place. It is now the full-heat of the day, the thing I tried to avoid, and I’m not yet halfway through my journey. Pulled into Coulterville. Actually I blew past it cos there was no shade and it looked like a 2-horse town. Motor-on.

Treeless Desolation
The next stretch of road between Coulterville and the Mariposa County Line is nearly devoid of trees and shade, with two significant mountain passes and several minor ones. The road is slow, winding, with narrow margins and few paved turnouts. However, to my good fortune traffic was light and reasonable, though I had faced hot crosswinds most of the time.

Hugely concerned about power, I switched to the “poverty-pedaling” technique first tested when climbing over Mt. Lassen. This really helped extend my pack though greatly reduced my climbing speed. Still – I was well into the power band and had no shortage of climbing ability so long as I took it slowly between 24-27 mph. In this segment I found one shady pullout near the top and stopped to eat/drink. There was nothing to lean the bike on, so I had to “be the pole” and hold it up. From this high vista I could see traffic from two miles out and pace my next departure. Awaiting below was the Merced River gorge. Down and down, over and up, and up some more and out; once across the Mariposa County Line I felt renewed optimism that I might actually survive the day despite the horrific delay. The big unknowns were How far to Oakhurst, and How far to Fresno? It was probably best that I didn’t know, though I kept a mental track on the distances to each county line by reading the mileage markers.

Mariposa
Just as I crested the last whopper summit and leveled off, I pulled into the trees for shade and rest. I took a glance at the rear tire and it was almost deflated, indicating leakage. Opened up the trailer and extracted the tire pump (which would later live in the rear pannier). Fixed the tire full of pressure. Only 9 miles to go to Mariposa, most of it was downhill. I pulled into the first minimart after Hwy 49 merged with Hwy 140, bought a huge Gatorade and proceeded to kill the whole bottle with a Cliff Bar. Took my empties back into the store and filled them with ice water. Thought about it – and killed another ½ bottle right there. Topped it off again, repacked and got back onto that electric horse and kept going; Time 4:20 PM. No idea how far Oakhurst is – but I poverty-pedal on every significant hill hereafter.

Oakhurst
Between Mariposa and Oakhurst is some quite pretty country that I can really identify with. The road however is quite busy with poor margins; I used the turnouts often to let people by. A remarkable surprise, the township of Ahwahnee is just a spectacular treat to the eyes long starved of lush green trees. Up and over then down into another basin, finally dropping quickly into Oakhurst. Spotted an O’Rielly’s Auto Store, purchased a 16 ounce bottle of Slime, and injected the whole works into that pesky tire. Called my Bro, let him know where I was and to expect me in 90-120 minutes.

The sun was setting, the heat of the day had past, I had one more major hill to climb, and then it’s all downhill into the anvil of the Valley. Didn’t mark the time, didn’t mark the distance. I didn’t want to know. Only one path lay before me, one task left to accomplish; keep the focus. One foot in front of the other; repeat…

Strangely as it sounds, beginning around Ahwahnee and certainly ascending the last hill coming out of Oakhurst then down into the Valley were signs and indications of public encouragement. People smiled and waited for me; they waved, gave me thumbs-up, shouted encouragements (when I could understand them, or at least I took them to be positive) – and I bombed every downhill before me. The most difficult part of this segment was heading into the sun at dusk with partial shade; hard to find the road.

Though the heat had abated the air was thick and close. Long arse grades both up and down with hugely busy traffic coing in pulses metered by the last stop-light in Oakhurst. Finally the Valley comes into view. My legs had feigned pulled muscles for the last 40 miles, but I keep going. The tendons behind my knees complained like overstretched rubber bands that were about to break, but I kept going. In the distance I espied my last rest stop: A partly shaded park and ride at the junction of Hwys 41 and 145.

I wish, I wish, I wish I had remembered to stop and take pictures after crossing Hwy 41 onto Hwy 145 after resting. This is country where I rambled in my youth, and the vistas unfolded before me vast and deep – penetrating clear to the craggy crests of the Sierras. Now heading east on Hwy 145, my next goal is to reach Friant. Traffic is virtually nil, though the road was as nasty as it was in my youth. Little downdips offered up cool breezes. Cows watched me amble by; I moo’d at them; Moo!

The last big downhill takes me to Friant. I haven’t been on this road since I was in high school. The sun had set enough to halfway illuminate Friant Dam which holds back Millerton Lake; 13 miles to Fresno. When I was a small kid, maybe 12 years old, I got the bright idea one morning to ride out to Millerton Lake on my Stingray bicycle and convinced a pal to go with me. It was 13 miles. We made the trek just fine. Ate too much ice cream. Ran out of money for soda, but I convinced the operator to connect me to my Mom and pleaded they come get us. No way she said; you rode out there – you can ride back. We rode back, though about halfway back my Pa came and rescued us. Next time I was better prepared.

Crossing the San Joaquin River here put me into Fresno County; the San Joaquin is the southern-most river of the Central Valley that flows naturally north out to sea – whereas all other rivers south of here have no outlet. Go Right old young man, onward. Basic now: Follow Friant Road into Fresno. Much has changed, and some has not. The narrow two-lane knarled road of my youth was now a divided 4-lane highway affording wide bike lanes on each side. Gone was the old Ball Ranch and the Tasty-Freeze. Gone were the quaint farm houses. But some of the old dilapidated strips were still there waiting I suppose to be snapped up by some enterprising developer. The road follows a sinuous path through the river bottom; it fills me senses as I can recognize vineyards heavy with fruit, and off in the far distance – horse pastures. I welcome it all in the fading light. One last hill to climb – not very large, hardly worth mentioning – yet in my youth, this was the killer hill. No need to downshift, I am out of the river bottom. Blazed on past a trio of red-shirted cyclists that did fully not comprehend that they had just been Kingfish’d. The City beckons like a dazzling jewel. Two lights to go.

The terminus of Friant Road dumps me onto Blackstone Blvd; this was the old Hwy 41 before the freeway replaced it; they don’t even call it Business 41; it’s just a thicket of lights every quarter to half mile from one end of Fresno to the other. At this end of town is a fairly recent developer’s Mecca of Consumerism called Riverpark Mall. The city can’t grow in this direction any farter unless they can figure out how to grow onto the side of the cliffs without falling into the river below.

I peeked at the CA; the voltage on the pack says I can make it to my Bro’s. I try not to look at the miles. Twilight now as I thread my way through rural routes. It is almost dark when I announce my arrival over the cell phone: “Open the Gate!”

8:20 PM – Arrival
I started this trip at 6:40 AM - nearly 13.5 hours on the road. About 4 hours were stolen by the flat tire. I am filthy, stinky, sticky, tired, and cramping. My Bro hands me a glass of cold something though I cannot recognize that it is Gatorade, the bottle of which I nearly kill on the spot. I haven’t urinated since I fixed the flat; counting the morning, that’s only twice. I won’t urinate again until the next morning, and even then it is a concentrated dribble. I don’t mean to be gross – it’s just that it took me a day to rehydrate.

After dinner, a jump in the pool, and a shower, I enjoyed two Pacifico’s – then faded into bed. This has been the most difficult segment yet.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

Kingfish wrote:Also, SF peoples – we are tentatively planning on meeting Sunday August 14th at the Presidio at Noon, specifically the Sports Basement at 610 Old Mason Street, SF, CA 94129, @37.803087,-122.45872

Somebody take a thumb drive, netbook, or whatever connects & transfers his pics & videos to help KF get these posted. I mean, this is 2011 & the road journal would be more interesting with pics & vids posted while you are actually traveling, not back home, imo.

A most humble thank you. I am working with bear rugs and stone knives trying to coax this ancient PC into editing a few pictures. A couple of notes: I have finally been able to review the quality of the pictures than my Samsung Droid Charge has taken – and I am definitely going to pack my camera next time; the quality and color depth has a long way to go before it can rival my semiprofessional equipment. Therefore I apologize; not all the pictures are of a caliber that I am accustom to using.

Also – I have some panoramas that need to be stitched together and this old box can’t manage that with the low-tech image editor. However – I have posted some of the easily cropped pictures. Below are the links to the backfills containing them.

Sunday
The Plan is to meet at the Presidio on Sunday at Noon; I wish to thank Edward Lyen for setting this up. The idea G.M. has floated is that we take a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin. This is certainly an intriguing invitation. I will be riding up from Santa Cruz – putting in about 75 miles to reach the Presidio.

My original plan was to come up, meet with a few of you folks, and possible stay an extra day to go for a ride. By meeting on Sunday we are essentially killing two birds with one – and moving my caravan towards the next destination by 20 miles or so.

My hope is that this will be an agreeable arrangement. And I wish to tip my hat to Edward for initiating the organization. Can’t wait to meet up with you fine folks!

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

Kingfish wrote:Also, SF peoples – we are tentatively planning on meeting Sunday August 14th at the Presidio at Noon, specifically the Sports Basement at 610 Old Mason Street, SF, CA 94129, @37.803087,-122.45872

Somebody take a thumb drive, netbook, or whatever connects & transfers his pics & videos to help KF get these posted. I mean, this is 2011 & the road journal would be more interesting with pics & vids posted while you are actually traveling, not back home, imo.

UPDATE: Somebody take a good digital camera/video for this event, so KF & ES can have some high-rez pics/video posted...

Sweet, I will bring my thuderbolt cell which it can do 8MP digital camera super crispy picture

I will see you all at SF Noon this sunday.

deVries wrote:

deVries wrote:

Kingfish wrote:Also, SF peoples – we are tentatively planning on meeting Sunday August 14th at the Presidio at Noon, specifically the Sports Basement at 610 Old Mason Street, SF, CA 94129, @37.803087,-122.45872

Somebody take a thumb drive, netbook, or whatever connects & transfers his pics & videos to help KF get these posted. I mean, this is 2011 & the road journal would be more interesting with pics & vids posted while you are actually traveling, not back home, imo.

UPDATE: Somebody take a good digital camera/video for this event, so KF & ES can have some high-rez pics/video posted...

Left Fresno about 11:30 AM, though had to make a couple of stops on the way out of town. I am taking a short break at the junction of I-5 & Panoche Road. The next big town is Hollister - about 45 miles - maybe more. I have plenty of water and Gatorade but it is very warm. Hofefully it will cool off as I climb out of the Big Valley. Feeling the need to move, I'll be leaving shorty and will try to check in when I reach Hollister.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

I had to call it short today. Ended the day in Hollister after 122 miles. Between the heat, the nasty road, the nasty Dirt road, and the headwind - I was pretty well spent.

The alternate route would have been over Hwy 152 - Pacheco Pass - and that is a lot more traffic. As it was, between I-5 & Hwy 25 over Panoche Pass - only ONE car passed me in my direction! Lots of solutude, plenty for the mind to work with, cows to moo at, ranchers to talk to, horses in need of carrots - and snakes to avoid! It was a wild trek; I'll have to backfill cos it's an interesting tale to be sure

Tomorrow I have a longer ride to get to SF and expect to get an early start. Figure 100 miles easy. I hope the winds are light in the AM.

The charge is going great guns. Time for ol KF to get a shower, some food, and then off to see the Sandman.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

ADDENDUM: It's about 9 AM and I've just jioned up onto Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz. One quick stop before continuing on to SF. It's overcast, foggy , damp or all 3 at the same time. I expext to be a little late due to metro areas. So far so good. Abojut 46 miles this AM. I'll check in again as I get closer.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

ADDENDUM: It's about 9 AM and I've just jioned up onto Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz. One quick stop before continuing on to SF. It's overcast, foggy , damp or all 3 at the same time. I expext to be a little late due to metro areas. So far so good. Abojut 46 miles this AM. I'll check in again as I get closer.

Cheers! KF

I am now at Half Moon Bay taking a break after 95 miles. There was a nasty head and cross wind between SC and Pescidero that chewed off 2 volts and I've had to drop speed to xonserve the pack if we're going to San Rafael. I think it is a safe bet to expect me must after 1 PM given metro slowness.

Feeling peckish, can't wait to meet you folks; hope to see you soon!
Only 30 more miles, KF

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed.
The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.